Bittersweet Love
by KaeRose75
Summary: Laxus tends to push people away and after using Fae to reject another girl's confession, he finds her interesting and suggests they date to keep other girls from bothering him. Fae reluctantly agrees after a while. While both of them play their parts, things start to change when they develop real romantic feeling for each other. Full Summary Inside! Previously "From Hate to Love"
1. Prologue - New School Year

_Full Summary: Laxus is cold and cocky student at Fairy Academy. He tends to push people away with his arrogant and non-caring attitude. After using Fae by saying she was his girlfriend to reject another girl's confession, Fae becomes upset that she was used in such a lie. Laxus then suggests they actually date so it becomes a truth-and also to help keep other girls from confessing to him. Fae reluctantly agrees and they become a couple. While both of them play their parts, things start to change when they develop real romantic feelings for each other._

 _This is based off of First Love Diaries._

 _I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima-sensei does._

 _I don't own FLD, Voltage Inc. does._

 _Please leave review, even if it is a short one or a few words! But no flames, please!_

 _ **Prologue – New School Year**_

It was the start of a new school year. I got on the same train as always, and found Mirajane, one of my best friends.

"Morning Fae-chan!" She said, waving at me.

"Mira-chyan! Good morning!" I greeted back as I made my way over to her. "Can you believe we'll be juniors this year?"

"Right?" She smiled, "And I have decided that this is the year I'm going to get a boyfriend for sure!"

I looked at the pretty blue eyed, white blonde with an exasperated smile.

"Ohhh? So the match maker wants to be matched?" I teased.

"Oh, shush!" Mirajane whacks me playfully. "What about you? Don't you want a boyfriend?"

I pulled my long, wavy silver hair into a ponytail so it would stay out of my golden eyes and looked thoughtful.

' _High school would be more fun if I had a boyfriend…'_ I thought wistfully. _'But I'd be too embarrassed to…I mean, I can't just come out and say it like Mira can… I'm not brave when it comes to_ _that_ _…'_

"Come on, we've got this Fae-chan!" Mirajane said. "Let's go all out this year!"

"Ah… Y-Yeah…" I said less enthusiastically.

"Then let's get started!" She said excitedly, "I had all summer to think about this plan! I call it the Love Vision Training Method! Or Love-Vision for short."

"Wait…what?" I deadpanned.

"You know! Visualization training, like what athletes do!" Mirajane explained. "You picture in your mind what it would be like if you met a guy and started dating."

"So you mean…just daydreaming?" I mused flatly.

Mirajane laughed a little, "Well, anyways, everyone does it at some point or another…" She mumbled sheepishly.

"Is that so…" I sighed.

"Yup!" She squealed, wrapping her arm around mine.

Mirajane didn't give me much of a choice and ended up roping me into this game of hers by sheer force of personality. Even so, I smiled a little. It could be fun!

Just as I was warming up to the game, my train of thought is interrupted. There was a man talking loudly on his cellphone. His voice carried through the whole cart.

"Come on, I got the quote last week!" He yelled, "Just do your damn job and confirm the details!"

I scowled, "…People like that should not ride public transportation."

The man had brown hair and vivid green eyes and looked to be an office worker of some kind. By now, everyone on the cart and even the ones next to us are focused on him with glares. But he doesn't seem to care.

"Oh, I can't stand people like that!" Mirajane snapped.

Mirajane is known to be kind and cheery…unless you anger her. Then her Demon side would come out. Right now the dark, scary expression on her face tells me that Demon Mira has made her appearance.

I grimaced as she squared her shoulders, practically bristling, and started towards the man.

"Oi, Demon-chyan! Not a good idea!" I called casually, but she ignored me. I sighed and quickly followed after her.

By the time I caught up to her she was already starting to snap at the man. Her arm were crossed and her stance was firm as she glared coldly down at the man.

"Using your phone on the train goes against basic courtesy! Were you born as manner less scum or what?" She said in a voice full of disgust.

The man glanced up with a glare of his own, "You say _something_ , chickie?" He asked in a bored tone.

I stepped closer to Mirajane and got ready-whether it was to pull her off the man or beat the shit out of him if he tried anything.

' _This is not how I imagined my first day of being junior…'_ I sighed.

As soon as he heard me sigh, his hard gaze shifted towards me.

"Is this your friend, little lady? You got something to say as well?" He asked.

I snarled at being called little and took a step towards the man.

"Oh? What's with that look?" He asked smugly. "You're pretty cute, ya know? Even with that look…"

Suddenly, the man grabbed my arm.

"Hey!" I let out an outraged shriek.

I started to lift my other hand to punch him, when in that very same instant the man let out a pained shout and let go of me.

"E-Eh?" I stammered in shock as Mirajane pulled me back a little ways. The moment I looked up to see what was going on, I saw the familiar short black hair and red eyes of… "Rogue!"

The silent, tough looking guy with a scar across his nose that I knew as Rogue Cheney-Eucliffe was twisting the man's arm back. Mirajane had thrown her arms around me.

"Fae-chan! Are you okay?" Mirajane asked frantically, obviously her normal self again. "I'm so sorry! This was all my fault!"

"I'm fine." I said, smiling to reassure her.

But Mirajane still pulled me closer.

"C-Come on, man! Lemme go!" The man yelped.

Rogue released the man and gave him a cold look. He moved protectively in front of Mirajane and me until the next train stop. When the doors opened the man bolted outside as if he were being chased.

"Rogue! Thanks for helping us!" I said gratefully as the train started moving again.

"It was nothing…" He said quietly. His quiet voice didn't match his tall, intimidating frame. "Is your arm okay? I remember you bruising easily."

I lifted up my sleeve to examine my arm. Sure enough there was a bruise in the shape of a hand print still forming on my arm.

"It's nothing that can be helped…" I sighed.

"I should have intervened sooner." Rogue frowned apologetically.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" I said. "It would have been a lot worse if you hadn't stepped up when you did."

He nodded in acceptance.

"You ride this train often don't you?" Mirajane asked, and I could practically see the wheels cranking in her head.

At Mirajane's question Rogue suddenly looked anxious for some reason. With his face still frozen in that expression, he quickly muttered a good bye and hurried to the other end of the car.

"Hm? Why'd he take off so suddenly? I feel like I see him a lot on the train…" She murmured, "But anyways, you two seemed to know each other pretty well!"

"Ah, well… We went to middle school together. He and Sting are twins who are a year younger than me. They're also related to Gajeel and Natsu. The four of them were like my bodyguards in a way, even though I was fine on my own." I explained.

"Really? Well, Rogue was pretty cute…" Mirajane mused, looking like she was scheming.

"Stop right there, Mira-chyan." I deadpanned. "Rogue is like family. That would be weird…!"

"He's looking at you." Mirajane interrupted me.

"Eh?" I looked where she was looking.

Sure enough, Rogue was looking at us. The moment our eyes met, he smiled a bit and looked away.

"He's just being protective." I said.

"Sure, sure… He puts a new meaning to tall, dark and handsome!" Mirajane said with a suggestive smile. "Isn't that your type, Fae-chan?"

"Wha-!" I started to deny it, but Mirajane cut me off again.

"Alright! Time for Love-Vision Round One!" She cheered loudly, much to my horror. "If he asked you out what would you say? Would you say yes or no?"

"Mira-chyan…" I said in a low warning tone.

"Oh, relax, Fae-chan! It's just a game of _what ifs_." She said. "It's not like I'll force you on a date with him if you say yes." I gave her a flat look. "I swear! Just answer, pleeeeease?"

"You're starting to sound like one of those quiz shows on TV…" I muttered.

"Well? Answerrrrr!" She pleaded.

"Like I said, no. He's like family. It would be weird." I said, sounding bored. "Plus he's dating Min-chyan."

"Seriously?" Mirajane pouted. "But he's so hot…"

"Then you ask him out!" I huffed.

"Mm… Not my type!" She beamed.

"Mira-chyan, you…" I mumbled, but she interrupted me again.

"Oh, looks like he's getting off." She said.

"Well, Rogue does go to a different school. Sabertooth Academy, I think it's called. Speaking of…why isn't Sting with him? They're usually inseparable…"

Rogue waved at me and got off.

…

"Uwah! The sea looks gorgeous today!" I said in a cheerier tone as Mirajane and I walked down the seaside road.

We had gotten off the station closest to our high school and were walking alongside the road. Said road ran along the shore with an ocean view out to one side.

"Oh, look, there's Gajeel!" Mirajane pointed out.

"Huh? Where?" I asked looking along the shoreline.

I spotted him pretty quickly. Gajeel Redfox, a senior at our school, Fairy Academy, was walking along the beach, holding his surfboard under one arm. His long unruly black hair was dripping wet, but his red eyes shined with excitement from having done one of his favorite things-surfing. Gajeel almost always tried to catch a wave or two before school started.

"Now you wanna talk about a delinquent…" I trailed off smugly.

"Who cares?! He's hot!" Mirajane squealed.

It seemed like he had just come out of the water and was still shirtless wearing his dark grey swim trunks. Drops of water rolled off his bangs and splashed across his skin, sparkling as they caught the sunlight. He drew the attention of every girl in eyeshot.

I snickered, "Oi, Gajeel! You're gonna make a bunch of girls late by making them faint!" I yelled.

His eyes met mine instantly and he smirked, heading over to us.

"Wha… He's coming this way!" Mirajane squealed again.

"Mira-chyan… You're hurting my ears…" I whined.

"Mornin'! Gihi!" He greeted.

"Good morning, Gajeel." I greet, smirking at him.

"You're unusually early to school. Were you spying on me, brat?" He teased.

I grinned, reaching over and yanked his hair.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"You were saying?" I asked sweetly.

He scowled at me, "Yeah, yeah… I _was_ kidding you know…" He grumbled.

"Oh, I know!" I said innocently.

"You little…" Gajeel reached out and messed up my hair.

I shrieked and smacked his hand away. I glared harshly at him…if looks could kill…and fixed my hair.

"How do you know so many hot guys?! First Rogue and now-" Mirajane was interrupted by a surprised sound from Gajeel.

"Oh? You ran into Ryos?" He asked.

"Huh? Ryos?" Mirajane asked in confusion.

"Ryos is his true name, but he prefers to go by Rogue." I explained quickly, "And yeah, he actually saved our butts on the train…"

"Is that so…? You'll have to tell me about it later." Gajeel said, and started to walk off. "See ya around!"

"Later, Gajeel!" I called after him.

As he walked farther along the beach Mirajane suddenly grabbed me and shook me.

"Oh my Mavis! Who _else_ are we going to run into that you know?!" She demanded.

"The hell if I know! A lot of guys from my old middle school are still around the area!" I said, trying to detach her from me. "You're making me dizzy, dammit!"

' _I'm gonna be sick…'_ I thought feeling nauseous.

Mirajane finally stopped shaking me and looked at me expectantly.

"So, what if Gajeel asked you out? What would you say?" She asked suddenly.

"Eh? Where did that come from?" I muttered.

"It's the next round of Love-Vision, of course!" She said.

"Oh…right…" I sighed.

"Soooo?" Mirajane pressed.

"Nope!" I said with a grin.

Mirajane's jaw dropped in shock, "Why _not_?!" She practically screamed.

"Same with Rogue, he's like family." I said. "And he's already dating Le-chyan."

" _HE_ and _LEVY_ are together?!" Mirajane screeched.

"Mira-chyan… Seriously… You're hurting my ears…" I complained, having really sensitive hearing ever since I could remember.

"Just think of the children they'll have! Black hair and hazel eyes and blue hair with red eyes!" Mirajane gushed, ignoring me completely.

"They haven't even graduated high school, much less thought of marriage, Mira-chyan!" I exclaimed with wide eyes.

"That doesn't matter to me!" She said with a glint in her eyes.

' _You poor souls…'_ I thought as I watched Gajeel's back as he walked away.

…

Just as we arrived at the gate I heard someone call out to me and I'm hugged from behind.

"Waaaah! Get off me!" I yelled.

"Such a temper!" A familiar voice laughed and they let go.

I spun around to see a familiar blonde haired, blue eyed guy with a scar above his right eye in front of me.

"Sting!" I exclaimed.

I also knew Sting Eucliffe-Cheney from middle school. Like I said earlier, he was Rogue's twin. Well, they were actually stepbrothers, but the weird thing is…they were born on the same day and only minutes apart like twins. You would never guess they weren't blood related.

Anyways Sting's always had a way of catching someone's eye as he flashed that perfect smile of his. That hasn't changed at all since middle school. I looked at Mirajane and grinned when I saw that she had been frozen by his stunning smile.

"I woke up late today and missed the train, but I wanted to see you at your school before I headed to Sabertooth Academy." He said. "Rogue texted me and said there had been trouble on the train. Are you okay?"

Sting didn't wait for me to answer and lifted my shirt sleeve, revealing the hand print bruise.

I sighed and yanked my sleeve down, "It would have been worse if not for Rogue." I said.

"I suppose. You can fight pretty well without our help, after all." He mumbled.

"It's nice to be protected sometimes." I said with a smile.

He smiled back, and it soon turned into a grin.

"Turn around and hold still!" He said, suddenly spinning me around.

I felt him tug out my ponytail. He then grabbed the top sides of my hair and braided them to rest on the hair that was left down.

"You look prettier with your hair like this!" He said, as I touched the braid.

I smiled, "Yeah, yeah… Thank you. It's been awhile since you styled or played with my hair." I said.

"Yeah, no kidding!" He said and checked his watch. "Oh, shit! I'm gonna be late! Be seeing you!"

I waved as Sting dashed off down the road.

"Who…?" Mirajane finally spoke, but trailed off in shock.

"Sting, Rogue's brother." I answered.

"He is _totally_ cute!" Mirajane gushed.

She looked at me expectantly, but I shushed her instantly.

"He's like family and dating Yuki-chyan." I huffed.

I walked through the gate with Mirajane. Some couples who walked together were kissing in the courtyard. They didn't seem to care if anyone saw them.

"Ugh, they're at it again…" Mirajane sighed. "As much as I love _love_ I wish people would keep the public displays a little more to themselves…"

" _This_ coming from the famous Match Maker Mirajane?!" I said in shock. "Well, this _is_ where they have to part for the day."

Fairy Academy is a co-ed school, but the boys and the girls each had classes in separate buildings.

"Well, when I have a boyfriend you won't catch me standing around and making out like that in front of everyone. We'll show a little more decency…" Mirajane huffed as we reach the shoe lockers.

I laughed, but agreed completely. I couldn't imagine kissing in front of other people like _that_. But having someone I could wave goodbye to each morning… Having a boyfriend would be the best high school experience I could have. Just then a commotion of voices interrupt my thoughts.

"Natsu! Where'd you go?!" A guy with navy blue hair and black eyes yelled. His name was Gray Fullbuster.

"He said he had to go to the bathroom…" A guy with blue hair, brown eyes and a strange birthmark over his right eye sighed. He was Jellal Fernandez.

"My, my… The boys' basketball team are sure getting the noise level off to an early start." Mirajane giggled.

"They're definitely in high spirits." I agreed.

"What's up with him anyways…?" Gray muttered. "…Oh!"

Gray looked surprised as soon as he saw me. I waved and went to step away.

"Hey, Fae, hold on a second!" Jellal yelled.

"Eh? What is it?" I asked.

"Could you just, um…wait a moment?" He pleaded.

Mirajane and I exchanged a confused look.

"What exactly am I waiting for?" I asked suspiciously. "What are you guys planning?"

Gray looked around seemed to spot something. He ran towards it.

"Oi, Flame Brain, get over here!" He yelled and dragged a kicking and yelling pink haired guy with eyes such a dark green they almost seemed black.

"Hey, get off me, Ice Princess!" Natsu Dragneel snapped.

"Natsu?" I said in surprise, recognizing his voice, as I spun around.

Gray had Natsu in a playful headlock.

"You guys haven't changed a bit." I laughed. "How was your basketball summer camp?"

"It went great! We're going to kick Sabertooth's ass this year!" Natsu said as soon as got himself free.

"Yeah! I can't wait to rub it in that Rufus jerk's face!" Gray grinned and punched his fist onto his other palm.

"Hey, guys! We gotta get going!" Jellal said in a panic. "There was a basketball meeting before the opening ceremony! Gildarts will kill us if we're late!"

"Shit!" Gray swore loudly.

"See you, Fae! Let's all hang out again sometime!" Natsu yelled.

"Bye, guys!" I called after them.

"You know _them_ too?!" Mirajane whined.

"Yup! Natsu, Gray and Jellal went to the same middle school as me as well! Those three, Gajeel, Rogue, Sting and I meet up to hang out from time to time still." I said.

"Love-Vision Round Three, Four and Five! So, what about those three?" Mirajane asked. "Any of them strike your fancy?"

"No. Family. And you know Natsu's dating Lu-chyan, while Gray's dating Juvi-chyan and Jellal's dating Erzy-chyan." I answered.

"But Fae-chan! You've said no to all the guys!" Mirajane exclaimed.

She was all worked up and gesturing wildly, almost hitting someone even more familiar than the other four guys in the face.

"Do you mind?" He growled.

The guy was tall, muscular and had blonde spikey hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar over his right eye. Laxus Dreyar was someone I'd rather not mess with unless I absolutely had too.

"Sorry about her, Laxus…" I apologized quietly for Mirajane who was still irritated with me.

He stared down coldly at me, giving me a once over. I had to take a deep breath to keep from lashing out. But the longer I stared into his eyes, the stranger I felt. His eyes were beautiful-a piercing, stormy blue-grey. But they seemed so cold.

"Hmph…" He continued to stare at me. "Fae… Still lacking either distinguishing traits or noticeable qualities, I see. Pathetic…"

"You…" I felt my self-control straining.

"Well, at least you have _some_ nice…assets." He said smirking wolfishly at me.

I instantly hugged my chest, "Heh, well, I guess the only nice thing about _you_ are your pretty eyes." I sneered right back. "That scar does _so_ complement them."

He scowled and brushed passed me, continuing on his way. It was a low blow and we both knew it. I only felt a little guilty though and I refused to watch him walk away, instead stared at one of the lockers.

I'd known Laxus since daycare. We were in elementary, middle and even now-high school together. The thing is…back in daycare and elementary school Laxus was such a sweetheart…but suddenly he changed once we got to middle school. He became cold, distant and arrogant. To this day I don't know why or what happened to change him… This Laxus is a stranger to me…and I didn't like it one bit.

"I miss you…" I whispered sadly.

"What was his problem?" Mirajane snarled, her demon form threatening to take over again. "Just because he's smart and sexy doesn't mean he can do what he likes!"

"Leave him alone, Mira-chyan…" I said softly. "He never used to be like that, I swear…"

Mirajane gave me an incredulous look.

"You're _defending_ him?!" Mirajane demanded, and then looked as if she were in shock. "You… You can't possibly like _him_ of all people?"

"Maybe." I said with a shrug, and walked off.

Mirajane followed after me, bombarding me with questions along the way. I just ignored her, of course.

…

"So what'd you think of the new teacher?" Mirajane asked as we walked into our classroom. "And that Sting kid from earlier was pretty cute too!"

She's bustling with excitement by the time we're inside. I blinked back into reality.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I said sheepishly.

Mirajane frowned, "You can't be thinking about _him_ still, are you?" She asked, looking disgusted. "No, just no!"

She snapped, answering her own question. Then suddenly she looked thoughtful and then dreamy again. I sighed, not even wanting to know what was going on in that head of hers.

"What going on here?" Another familiar voice asked as an arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"Cany-chyan!" I exclaimed, snapping Mirajane out of her thoughts.

Cana Alberona is the daughter of the boys' basketball coach, Gildarts Clive. She has long, wavy chocolate brown hair and cobalt blue eyes.

"We were about to go on to the opening ceremony without you two." She said.

"Yeah, they'll start soon, if we don't get a move on!" Another familiar blonde, but with medium length hair and with warm brown eyes, added.

"Lu-chyan!" I grinned.

Lucy Heartfilia is really, really, _really_ rich, but you wouldn't know it from how nice and simple she is. She's the head cheerleader here at FA.

Cana and Lucy grinned as they motioned for us to follow them.

The Match Making Demon. The Experienced Fortune Teller. The Cosplay Princess. And me, the Sarcastic Adviser. Our personalities are as different as night and day, but the four of us have been inseparable since we met as freshmen.

"Coming!" I called and grabbed Mirajane's arm, "Let's go!"

"Okay!" Mirajane smiled.

The two of us quickly followed after our friends.

…

As we headed towards the gym, Mirajane suddenly questioned me.

"So, who is it you really like Fae? Who would you want as your boyfriend?"

"I already told you." I answered as I smiled secretively.

The school bell chiming in the background drowned out Mirajane's whining.

' _Saved by the bell!'_ I thought as I bolted down the hall.

Cana, Lucy and Mirajane were hot on my heels.

"They're already starting!" Mirajane yelled.

"Less talking, more running!" I huffed.

As we ran the face of the guy I like comes to mind.

' _Laxus…'_


	2. Stranger

_**Chapter One – Stranger**_

After the entrance ceremony clusters of students slowly filed out of the gym. I headed back to the classroom with my friends.

"Principal Dreyar sure knows how to talk one's ear off!" Cana grumbled.

"Yeah, but did you have to yawn so often…?" Lucy asked.

"Fae-chan was yawning way more than me!" Cana accused. "Just look at those dark circles under her eyes!"

"It was a late night!" I shot back.

"Not as late as mine, I bet." Cana said.

"What were you doing?" Mirajane asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I was…ah, busy with things." Cana grinned suggestively.

"Busy with what?" Lucy and I asked at the same time, not quite understanding.

"Jinx!" I yelled.

"Fae-chan, you're so loud… It's too early in the morning to be getting that excited." Lucy sighed, though she was smiling slightly.

"You're one to talk…" I muttered.

"Oh Lucy-chan… As if you're not as curious as the rest of us." Mirajane teased.

"But all you're doing is projecting, Mira-chyan!" I spoke, rounding on the white-blonde. "All that 'Love-Vision' romance talk and stuff is-"

"Love-Vision?" Cana cut in, as she and Lucy exchanged looks of confusion.

"…Do we even want to know?" Lucy muttered.

"Nuh-uh! That was totally you too, Fae-chan!" Mirajane yelled loudly. "Before the opening ceremony, you were-"

I clamped my hand over the She-Demon's mouth and glared. Mirajane gulped. I was pretty scary when I want to be.

"Not. Another. Word." I hissed.

"Don't fight you guys." Lucy scolded.

But we ignored her and kept jabbing at each other as we all walked. It wasn't long until we were messing around and playfully shoving each other back and forth. I didn't even notice the stairs leading out to the court yard when we got to them.

"Fae! Watch out!" Mirajane cried out.

"Eh? Kyaaa!" I yelped.

I hovered dangerously on the edge of the step, trying to regain my balance. But it was no use. I fell forwards…straight into someone's arms. Carried by the momentum, I ended up burying my face in their chest and gripping their shirt…

"…S-S-Sorry!" I stammered in shock.

Flustered, I hurriedly looked up and my eyes widened in shock. The person holding me up was no other than Laxus! I opened my mouth again to thank him, but he cut me off, looking down at me with a glare.

"…Still a klutz, I see." He said.

"Wha…?" I started, but was cut off again.

"Can't you even keep track of where your own feet are, you clumsy idiot?" He sneered.

I gaped at him, still in shock.

' _Just add insult to injury, why don't you?!'_ I snarled mentally.

"Look here, Laxus-" But before I can voice my angry retort, I was cut off again, but by Cana this time.

"Don't you think that was uncalled for?" She snapped.

The feisty brunette was seething. She crossed her arms and scowled down at Laxus.

"That's right! What's your problem?" Lucy demanded.

"You were a jerk to her earlier as well!" Mirajane accused, her demon side coming out.

A look of irritation washed over Laxus' face as he responded.

"…Do you mind?" He sneered at my three friends, "Try to keep your babble to yourselves instead of disrupting everyone with your useless chatter." Then he narrows his eyes at me, "And _you_ , be more careful. The last thing anyone needs is to deal with you if you get injured…or worst."

And with that, he let go of me carefully and then briskly walked on, leaving us to watch him until he turned the corner.

"What is wrong with him?!" Mirajane exploded. "What a rude jerk!"

"But I did see him hurry up the stairs to catch Fae-chan, so he can't be all that bad… I guess…" Lucy muttered.

"Eh, really?" I asked.

Lucy nodded.

"Yeah right! He was probably there at the right time and caught her by reflex." Mirajane grumbled.

"No, I definitely saw him hurry to catch her. The look on his face said it all." Lucy said firmly.

"Anyways, Mira-chan, what did you say about him being a jerk to Fae earlier?" Cana asked.

"Earlier, he just walked up to her-" Mirajane spoke.

"-Actually it was because you almost hit him with your bag while you were ranting-" Fae muttered.

"-And started staring at her." Mirajane continued ignoring Fae, "He gave her a once over and called her plain and non-distinctive and then said something like _at least she has some nice assets_ , if you get what I mean."

"Well, he obviously thinks very highly of himself…" Cana scowled again.

"I know, right?!" Mirajane exploded, "Just because you have excellent grades and good looks to boot is no excuse for an arrogant and holier-then-thou attitude!"

I sighed. Mirajane was so upset that one would think it had happened to her and not to me… I felt like the moment had already passed though. So there was no reason in being angry about it now.

' _And come to think of it… I never did get to thank him for saving me…'_ I thought, _'Laxus' arms were strong…and surprisingly warm… I had thought he'd become a cold, study-obsessed, prodigy kid…but he was warm and careful with me. He even scolded me in a way that_ _almost_ _sounded like he was worried about me. No, stop right there girlfriend… Don't get your hopes up…'_

I was still lost in thought when the first bell rung.

"The warning bell! We're gonna be late!" Lucy yelled.

"We gotta run for it!" Mirajane said.

"Come on, Fae-chan!" Cana urged me.

"Huh? Oh, right…" I mumbled.

The three of them dashed down the stairs, forcing me to hurry and catch up.

…

The bell signaling the end of our fourth period rung. Mirajane stretched and turning towards me.

"Lunch time at last!" She giggled.

"Ugh… I can't believe they packed a full day of lessons in right after the entrance ceremony…" Cana's muffled groan came from where her head was buried in her arms on her desk.

"Well, anyways, let's eat!" Lucy said.

"Sounds good to me!" I agreed.

The four of us grabbed our lunches and found a place we could all sit to eat. I reached into my pocket for my handkerchief, but it wasn't there.

"…Huh?" I quickly tried my other pocket.

"What's wrong?" Cana asked.

"I can't find my handkerchief." I said, frowning. "It's my favorite one…"

"Maybe it's in your bag?" Mirajane suggested.

"No, I know I put it in my pocket this morning." I answered.

"Maybe it fell out somewhere earlier?" Lucy asked.

I froze, "…What if…" I muttered. "I might have dropped it when I fell, back at the stairs." I quickly stood up. "Sorry, you guys go ahead and starting without me."

With that said, I headed for the gymnasium to look around.

…

"I'm pretty sure it was around here somewhere…" I mumbled. I've been walking around the court yard, outside the gym, searching for five minutes. Then just around the spot where I fell, a familiar white handkerchief with a yellow lightning bolt and my first name stitched onto one of the corners was lying on the ground. "Ah, there it is. Thank goodness…"

I pick it up and dust it off, before running my thumb over the lightning bolt. A nostalgic feeling hit me and I remembered when Laxus had given it to me when we graduated from elementary. But my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a girl's voice not too far from where I was standing. Her voice was loud, sharp, upset…and kind of familiar. I turned around to see what was going on.

"Why haven't you answered me?" The girl with short white-blonde hair and blue eyes, shouted. "It's been a month since I told you how I felt about you!"

' _That's…'_ I thought as I stared at her. She was Lisanna Strauss, Mirajane's younger sister. Though I didn't know her very well, nor did I talk to her at all. The person she was talking to, or more like yelling at, was none other than, _'_ _Laxus_ _?! Whoa… Things look pretty heated between them. Well, Laxus is actually the only calm one.'_

Lisanna's voice had then become shrill. It looked like Laxus' nonchalant attitude was only provoking her.

" _Say_ something!" Lisanna yelled.

"I don't remember being asked to respond by a certain time." Laxus said, a bit of a scowl forming.

"That's… How can you say that?!" Lisanna shrieked. "You're horrible!"

"Since you seem to think I'm so horrible, perhaps you'll consider moving on?" Laxus stated, more than asked. "It would save us both the trouble. I don't even remember your name, really, and you're not my type anyways."

"…I don't understand!" Lisanna sobbed, "Is there something wrong with me? Do you have someone else?"

"What the hell are you blubbering about?" Laxus sighed. He was starting to look annoyed.

I knew I shouldn't be listening to something like this, but the feeling of dread and…was it jealousy? I didn't know. But those feelings kept me rooted to the spot.

' _Laxus…'_ I thought, biting my lip. _'He's a lot more popular than I thought he'd be… I mean, he's hot. No doubt about that… And he's really smart. But…'_

Lisanna looked like she couldn't quite bring herself to give up yet, so she tried again.

"Just tell me… Why can't it be me?" She whined pathetically. "What's wrong with me? I'll change if you want me too… I'll-"

"That's just stupid." Laxus cut in, glaring at her. "I already told you…"

He looked away in exasperation. But as he did, our eyes met. His narrowed slightly, while I struggled to keep a blank face.

' _Not good! Not good! Not good!'_ I chanted over and over in panic. _'I'll just pretend I just got here!'_

I waved and smiled, before starting to turn away. But then I saw him quickly walking over to me. He stopped in front of me and grabbed my wrist to keep me from running.

"Taken up eavesdropping to pass the time?" He asked sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to respond, taking in the glare that practically said, _you better keep your voice down or else!_

"I didn't mean to… I was looking for this." I said, showing him the handkerchief.

"...You still have that thing…?" He muttered.

Something flickered across his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Yeah, I do. But anyways, sorry." I said, tugging at my wrist. "I'll be going now."

"Hold on." He said, tightening his grip just an enough to keep me from pulling away, but not enough to hurt me. "If you're really sorry, then you won't mind helping me out."

"E-Eh? With what?" I asked, not having a good feeling about this.

"Never mind _what_." He said with a glare, "Will you do it or not?"

"Um…" I hesitated for a moment, "O…Okay."

"Come on then." He said, pulling me towards the jealous and upset looking Lisanna.

"W-Wait a moment!" I hissed at him. But he doesn't listen and continued to drag me along.

Lisanna straightened up defensively and looked at Laxus after glaring at me.

"…Who is _sh-she_?!" Lisanna demanded, "And why did you bring _her_ over here?!"

"Noisy woman…" I heard Laxus mutter under his breath.

"Ah, n-no. I just happened to be-" I stammered.

"My girlfriend." Laxus cut in. He subtly squeezed my wrist in warning, before letting go and placing his arm around my waist. "I already have someone, so I can't go out with you."

' _WHAAAAAAAT?!'_ I internally screamed.

I struggled to keep a blank face, but I could do nothing about how tense I was. I didn't expect _this_ to happen when Laxus asked for my help. I was so shocked I couldn't utter a word. And apparently I wasn't the only startled one.

"What…?" Lisanna mumbled in shock. A moment passed and suddenly Lisanna expression turned hateful, "FINE! WHATEVER!"

After screaming that, she turned and fled from the court yard as fast as she could.

Laxus let go of me and let out a 'hmph' noise.

"How predictable…" He muttered and looked at me. "After all that fuss she just up and quit as soon as she saw you. Pathetic."

I saw red and gave him my best glare.

"What do you know, Laxus?!" I snapped, "Don't you dare talk about Lisanna like that! And…and…! How _dare_ you use me like that!"

Laxus frowned, "Quit getting so worked up." He said, "You're the one who said you'd help me out."

"I'm _not_ worked up! I'm _pissed off_!" I yelled, "And if I had known, I would have said no! But you refused to tell me!"

"Is that a problem?" He muttered, seeming like he was bored.

" _Yes_ , that is a _big_ problem, you dumbass!" I screeched, "How could you just lie about me being your girlfriend like that?!"

Laxus suddenly turned to fully face with an intense expression. It caught me off guard and I froze.

"If that bothers you so much, then why don't we make it the truth?" He asked.

"Wha…What are you saying?" I asked quietly.

"We turn it from a lie to the truth by actually dating each other." He said simply. I stared at him in shock. Was he seriously saying that? His next statement proved it true. "Go out with me Fae Pendragon."

I searched his face for any signs of this being a joke. But his face was dead serious. He crossed his arms and watched me with his beautiful eyes. They were intense, like a powerful storm.

"I-I…!" I stammered.

I tugged lightly on my hair. It was a nervous habit.

"What? You don't want to go out with me then?" He asked.

"I-It's not that I don't want to…" I trailed off, feeling my whole face turn red.

"I wouldn't mind going out with you." He said as he took the strands of hair from my hand and tucked them behind my ear. The he smirked at me. "I mean I _was_ just in the market for some girl repellant, after all."

I froze, "…Girl repellent?" I repeated in a whisper.

"I mean if I don't do something about them, I'll never get any studying done." He said frowning as he looked away and then muttered, "I won't be able to surpass my dad and gramps, and do what I want then…" But before I could ask what he meant, he looked at me and was speaking again, "And you want a boyfriend, don't you? You and the loud mouth were certainly going on about it this morning. We each have something to offer here, and I can't think of any real downsides. I think it's a good deal. What do you say?"

I clenched my fists, "…What's wrong with you?!" I exploded.

Laxus looked taken back, "What?"

"That isn't what a relationship is about!" I yelled.

"Oi… You don't just hash out what everyone is offering at the bargaining table…" He muttered. "That's not how it works. Besides, why else do people date?"

"Because they like the other person, obviously!" I answered. I frowned at him, "How in the world can you be so smart and no know something so basic like that?" I sighed, "If I ever find a guy tallying up risks and benefits like they're some kind of purchase, then I don't want him for a boyfriend!"

"Heh…" Laxus chuckled dismissively.

His mocking attitude was even more infuriating than it was this morning. My temper spiked even further and before I knew it I was snapping at him.

"And just _what_ is so damn funny?!"

"So sorry, but your reasoning was just so stupid…" He answered.

"What's so stupid about it?!" I demanded.

"Explain this to me, what do you think it means to 'like' someone?" He asked. "Well, start talking. What kind of feeling is 'liking' someone?"

"That's…" I frowned and trailed off.

"No answer, huh?" He mused and I scowled. "Then I will for you. 'Liking' or 'Loving' someone is nothing more than incentive to complete our reproductive functions. It's all an illusion created by chemicals in your brain."

I had turned bright red, much to Laxus' amusement once he stopped talking.

"Reproductive…?" I repeated.

Laxus must have thought I hadn't understood and elaborated.

"Reproductive functions. Also known as sex." He said, smirking as my face turned a darker shade of red.

"I know what it means!" I snapped in embarrassment. "And... And you're still wrong!"

"How am I wrong?" He asked.

"You've got it all backwards!" I said. "People have…sex…because they like each other!"

"Maybe for women." Laxus said. "Men don't need to like their partner."

"That's…!" I snarled but was cut off.

"Wrong?" Laxus spoke smugly, "Have you even dated a guy before?"

"W-Well, no… But…" I trailed off.

"And I can assume you're a virgin." Laxus said.

I nodded, noting wanting to speak it out loud.

"So if you don't have any experiences at all, how would you know about any of this?" He questioned.

"I… I don't exactly know." I admitted, "But! That doesn't mean I can't tell you that you're still wrong!" I looked at him firmly, "I _know_ there's so much more to falling in love with someone that…than _that_!'

"And what evidence do you have?" Laxus countered instantly.

"None, but I still say you're totally wrong!" I said determinedly.

Laxus' eyes widened in surprise. He stared at me like I'd just stepped through another dimension or something. Finally he smiled a little, now taking me by surprise.

"You…haven't changed much." He said softly, "Still determined and even more interesting than you were back then. And still temperamental as well." He then frowned again, and I found myself missing his smile. "Any other girl would either stop talking out of exasperation, or get angry and leave… I've never seen one stand her ground like this…except you. You really are one of a kind."

Laxus stepped closer to me in one smooth movement. I was too stunned to move away. He reached out and stroked my cheek and then my hair.

"Hey… What are you…doing…?" I murmured hesitantly.

"Will you show me?" He asked.

"Show you?" I repeated.

"You believe so strongly that love isn't an illusion." He said. "Prove it to me."

Laxus was looking at me steadily now, his eyes blazing with challenge. He looked like he was really enjoying this. Somehow, I couldn't make myself look away from his eyes. They truly were gorgeous.

' _What's wrong with me…?'_ I wondered in the back of my head. _'How do I even respond to that…?'_

My breath caught in my throat and I found I couldn't speak. I kind of realized that I hadn't even been able to think straight since Laxus touched me.

Laxus took another graceful step towards me. He was so close now, our chests almost touching.

"Alright, Fae…?" He repeated softly.

His warm fingers brushed against my ear making me suddenly reflexively swat his hand away. I blinked and took a few quick steps back to distance myself from him.

I attempted to glare at him, but wasn't sure if I pulled it off.

"N-No! That's _n-not_ okay, moron!" I stammered. "F-Figure it out yourself! I… I'm not going to date someone who's practically a stranger to me now!"

I shot him a tearful glare, before turning my back to him and stomping off with my head held high.

' _I can't believe him, teasing me like that…!'_ I thought as I willed myself not to let a single tear fall. _'Everything he says makes me so upset!'_

I didn't even know why I felt so angry right now. Was it because my once childhood best friend was practically a mean stranger? Or was it because I still really liked him and the fact that he spoke about love as an illusion had hurt me…?

I could feel his eyes on me as I walked off.


	3. Rumor Has It

_Guys, come on! Please leave a review! Even if it's just one word! I'm doing my part by writing and posting these chapters, so the least you readers can do is review!_

 _ **Chapter Two – Rumor Has It…**_

It was the day after Laxus had asked me to be his _girl repellent_. I was feeling pretty depressed about the whole thing and thinking about it on my way to school.

' _Laxus… What was he even trying to do?'_ I thought as I waved absently to Gajeel who had called out a greeting from the beach. _'Did he actually mean he wanted to date me?'_

I couldn't get his words out of my head.

" _Love is nothing but an illusion."_

"… _an incentive to preform our reproductive functions."_

And he sounded like he had been lecturing me the whole time…

I frowned _'How could you even properly date someone who thinks like that?'_ I sighed, _'But…if nothing else he's smart and good looking, right?'_

"Hey." Someone called out to me, but I didn't hear them.

' _I wonder how he's been with any previous girlfriends.'_

"Hey! Don't ignore me, sparkles!" The person said sharply and grabbed my wrist.

"Kyaaa!" I yelped in surprise.

I whirled around throwing my other fist forward, unable to stop once I noticed the person was Laxus. But he caught my fist with an annoyed grunt.

"Laxus!" I cried out in shock. "I'm sorry, are you okay?!"

"Jeez, are you still half asleep?" He asked, letting go of my fist and shaking his hand a little.

"I was thinking." I answered. "I didn't hear you approach me."

Laxus looked a little intrigued and a little irritated, "And what were you thinking so hard about that you weren't paying attention to your surroundings?"

"About…" I trailed off, not wanting to say I'd been thinking about him.

Laxus hmphed, "You were most likely spacing out." He said and gave me a hard look, "If you paid more attention you wouldn't be so clumsy."

I huffed, shaking his hand off my wrist and put my hands on my hips.

"Okay, you know what Laxus?" I snarled. "And Sparkles? Really? We're not kids anymore…"

' _All those snide comments yesterday, and now again this morning! Hell no!'_ I thought absently in anger. _'Jerk! I'll show you!'_

Just as I was about to tell him off, he took something out of his pocket and held it out to me.

"This is yours." He said, holding out my handkerchief.

"Wha…?" I trailed off in surprise.

"Here." He prompted again.

"Oh… Thank you." I mumbled, feeling my anger suddenly drain.

I took it from him and was surprised that he had washed and ironed it for me.

"You came all the way to the gym to look for it, too… Must be important to you." He said with a strange look on his face, but then he smirked a little. "You dropped this when you left yesterday after arguing with me. That reminds me, do you normally eavesdrop on people? Or am I just special?"

"I-I wasn't eavesdropping…" I muttered, clutching my handkerchief tightly to my chest.

"At any rate, I made sure you got it back. See you." He said and started walking on towards school.

"…Laxus!" I called out to him before I even realized it. "About yesterday…"

He stopped and waited for me to catch up.

"What about it?" He asked, as I stopped at his side.

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it and looked at the ground.

' _I want to ask him if he meant it. That we should date. But…'_ I thought dejectedly.

Laxus' expression seemed to already dismiss my words before I've even spoken. Seeing his face like that, I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"Never mind." I murmured.

"Nothing to say after all?" He said. I quietly looked back at the ground and shook my head. "Yesterday you weren't shy about saying what was on your mind. It's not like you to be so quiet."

He laughed dismissively. Looking at his face in that moment, I was suddenly completely certain.

' _He never had any intention to actually date me…'_ I thought, feeling strangely upset. _'He was just saying all those things…'_

I felt like I'd always known that was going to be the case, but still… I'm filled with a strange fix of feelings that I can't quite describe. There's frustration and anger for being made fun of like that, but there's also a small part of me that felt something like disappointment… Oblivious to my feelings, Laxus glanced down at his wrist watch.

"We're going to be late for school." He said, "Come on, let's go."

He took my wrist and gently pulled me along as he started to walk. I followed, staying slightly behind him.

…

"Good morning…" I greeted absently.

"Fae-chan! There you are!" Mirajane exclaimed. As soon as I walked into the classroom, Mirajane flew to my side bubbling with excitement. She jumped up and down as she spoke. But I couldn't pay attention, instead staring blankly ahead. Mirajane pouted at me. "Hey, what gives?"

"What do you mean, Mira-chyan?" I asked absently.

"You walked to school with Laxus! And you were holding hands!" She shouted. "I guess that means the rumors are true, then?"

I snapped my attention to her immediately.

"What rumors?" I asked urgently.

"Huh? Wait… You don't know?!" Mirajane yelled. "Everyone is talking about how you and Laxus are dating now!"

"WH-WHAAAAT?!" I screeched.

According to Mirajane, the talk about us had been all over the school since this morning. She hadn't quite believed it at first, but when she saw me arrive with Laxus today...

"What's with you holding out on me like that, Fae-chan?" She pouted. "Why didn't you tell me about him?"

"N-No! It's just that-" I started to stammer, but was cut off.

"She was probably afraid you'd make a huge scene about it, Mira-chan." Cana said, giving Mirajane a meaningful look.

"Like you are now." Lucy added.

"Are you trying to say I can't be discrete?!" Mirajane huffed.

Cana and Lucy caught our conversation as they arrived and joined in. Everyone's heard the rumor from a different place, and the details were different…

"I heard that you and Laxus were sneaking off behind the gym." Lucy said.

"Well, I heard that you two had a huge lover's quarrel in the court yard." Cana added.

"But I heard you two were back there wrapped in each other's arms!" Mirajane squealed.

"Wait a minute…! Who did you hear all this from?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

"A girl from the next class over." Lucy answered.

"Same here." Cana said.

'… _Now that I think about it… Lisanna is from the next class.'_ I thought, _'Is she trying to get back at us by spreading those rumors…? Guess it doesn't matter now. We can't stop them now that they've spread so far…'_

"So, you're dating him right?" Mirajane pressed, "How far have you guys gone? When am I going to see babies with silver hair and blue eyes or blonde hair and blue eyes?!"

"Wh-What the hell, Mira-chyan?!" I screeched in embarrassment. "We're still in school and way too young!"

"You must be a masochist if you're dating Laxus of all people." Cana giggled.

"He can't be that bad!" Lucy said in shock.

"G-Guys, w-wait! Listen!" I stuttered, feeling overwhelmed. "I'm _not_ going out with Laxus!"

The three of them stared at me blankly.

"…Huh?" Mirajane squeaked.

"You're kidding, right?" Cana asked.

"Then…what about the rumors?" Lucy questioned.

"They are _just_ rumors!" I said firmly, "Come on! Seriously! You know there's no way I wouldn't have told you guys!"

"But you guys were holding hands this morning. If they're not true, then why are there rumors in the first place?" Mirajane asked.

"We ran into each other and were going to be late, so he grabbed my _wrist_ and dragged me along." I explained, "As for the rumors…er, I don't know…"

' _I can't tell them the complete truth… They might really kill him…'_ I thought. _'So for now I'll just deny the rumors…'_

"Huh… I actually believed it for a second." Cana said after a moment.

"Yeah. I did think it was strange though." Lucy murmured.

"Well, that's all it is. Just rumors." I muttered.

But I tensed when Mirajane grinned.

"You know…maybe you might as well go along with them." Mirajane suggested with a scary glint in her eyes.

"Huh?!" I gave her a startled look.

"I mean Laxus is supposed to take over the St. Mavis Hospital, right?" Mirajane explained, "He's a great catch! Looks, brains and he'll have a high paying job."

"That's right! He's the only son of the head of St. Mavis." Cana said, "Not only that, but he's the principle's grandson so he could take over the school as well! So he's mostly likely got a couple of inheritances as well."

"St. Mavis _is_ a fairly large hospital…and Fairy Academy is the top school in Fiore." Lucy added.

"Why to go Fae-chan!" Mirajane cheered, "You'll be able to marry into money!"

"M-Marry into…" I trailed off helplessly.

Mirajane just looked so excited about it already. She was probably already planning my wedding… I gave her a pained smile. Never mind the future, I don't even know how Laxus is dealing with all this right now…

'… _That's right. I had forgotten all about his inheritances.'_ I thought.

In remembering, I finally understood why studying is so important that he needed 'girl repellent'. I understood completely, but whether I was okay or not with being used is a whole other story.

"Alright brats, sit down now!" Aquarius-sensei snapped.

"Uh oh… Lucy-chan, did Aquarius-sensei have another fight with Scorpio-sensei?" Cana asked quietly as the four of us scrambled to ours seats.

"I heard that!" Aquarius-sensei raged. "Detention for you Miss Alberona, and you too, Miss Heartfilia!"

"WHAT?! NO WAY!" Cana complained.

"Wait, me too? What did I do?!" Lucy whined.

Mirajane and I wisely stayed silent. But for the entire lesson I couldn't stop thinking about Laxus.

…

The bell for the end of fourth period rung.

"Finally! Lunch!" Mirajane cheered.

Cana snickered, "Don't you say that every day, Mira-chan?" She asked in amusement.

"Well, tell me you don't look forward to lunch every day…" Mirajane pouted.

We all laughed as we grabbed our lunches and sat together. Just then, a loud excited chatter of voices broke out near the door of the classroom and I suddenly felt a feeling of dread.

"Hey, look…" A girl said.

"Is that…?" Another murmured. "So the rumors were true!"

"Well, now… Look who's graced us with his presence." Cana grinned causing the Lucy, Mirajane and I to look.

"Fae-chan, that's…" Lucy trailed off in shock.

"No way…!" I muttered under my breath.

Laxus was standing at the door to our classroom. His eyes were on me, having spotted me instantly.

"…Fae." He greeted as he walked towards us.

Mirajane gripped my arm so tight I had to bite my lip to keep from snapping at her to let go. Laxus stopped in front of us.

"Were you about to eat?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah…" I said quietly.

"Me too." He said, "Why don't we eat together on the roof?"

My eyes widened and I stared at him in surprise.

"…S-Sorry, but I'm eating with my f-friends." I stammered.

"Well, today you can eat with me." He said. "We have a lot to talk about, after all."

I wasn't sure how I should answer, so I just stayed silent. When Mirajane noticed, she took it upon herself to smooth things over.

"Oh, don't mind her! She's just being shy!" Mirajane said and practically shoved me out of my seat. If it weren't for Laxus catching me, much like yesterday, I would have crashed to the floor.

"Mira-chyan!" I shot her a look.

"We'll be fine, Fae-chan!" She said, grinning as she shoved my lunch into my arms. "You two go on now!"

"Yeah! You should probably try to talk things out!" Lucy added.

"I agree! You kids have fun! Don't do anything I'd do!" Cana said and winked.

"Well, then. Take care of our little Fae-chan for us Laxus!" Mirajane said.

With everyone practically pushing me, I left the classroom with Laxus and we headed to the roof together.

…

"Why don't we sit down here?" He suggested, leading me to the rail in the corner, overlooking the court yard.

I nodded silently and we sat down. There was no one else out here. It was just the two of us. Laxus opened his lunch and started eating without another word, so I did the same. But after a while I got sick of waiting for him to saying and spoke, "Hey, Laxus?"

"Hm?" He hummed.

"What are you trying to do here?" I asked sternly.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Why are you eating lunch with me?" I clarified.

"Why…?" He murmured and stopped eating. "Obviously we're going eat together since we're dating."

"Wha…?" I started, but he interrupted me.

"You didn't forget about what we talked about yesterday, did you?" He sighed.

"Laxus… You mean you really…?" I trailed off and just stared at him in surprise.

"What?" He frowned.

"You meant all that, about going out with me?" I asked.

"Obviously." He answered. "Why else would we eat together?" He looks me in the eyes and for some reason, I can't look away. "…Fae." He spoke.

"Huh?" I blinked, realizing I had been staring. "Wh-What?"

Without a word, Laxus started leaning toward me. He was close now. My heart started to race and I automatically squeezed my eyes shut.

' _Wh-Wh-Wh-What is he_ _dooooing_ _?!'_ I thought in panic, _'D-D-D-D-Don't tell me he's going to k-k-k-k-k-iss me?!'_

I had to force myself not to flinch when I felt a warm hand softly brushing through my hair. With a bunch of nervousness, I slowly opened my eyes…

"You had a sakura petal in your hair…" He muttered.

"…O-Oh." I said, not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

"It must have gotten in your hair when we walked through the court yard this morning." He murmured and blew lightly on the palm of his hand.

The wind picked up and carried the light pink cherry blossom petal away.

Laxus looked back at me and smirked, "Why are you so tense?" He asked.

"Huh?!"I turned bright red.

"Did you think I was going to kiss you?" He asked.

"What?! No! I did not!" I yelled.

His smirk grew even wider, "Then why is your face so red?" He taunted.

"I…! I…!" I stuttered.

"If you want me to, I will." He said leaning closer again.

I thrust my hands out to prevent him from coming any closer.

"Wh-What the hell are you saying?!" I stammered angrily.

Laxus just laughed and turned back to his lunch. My heart was racing so much… I started to eat my lunch again without even paying attention to what I was eating, so I barely tasted it…

…

Laxus finished eating quickly. He packed up his things and waited for me to finish and pack up. I started to feel rushed and shoveled bites into my mouth a little bit faster…only to end up choking.

"Ack!" I squeaked and coughed.

Laxus looked at me, alarmed, and patted my back.

"You don't need to rush!" He said, "Jeez, you really haven't changed. Tripping over thin air and choking on your food. Don't tell me you still wet the bed?"

"I… _cough, cough_ …do not… _cough_ …!" I forced the words out and glared at Laxus before finally calming down.

"Anyways, there's still time left." Laxus muttered, "So you can just eat at your normal pace." I nodded silently. "Fae, let me see your cellphone."

"Eh? Why?" I asked, surprised, but handed him my phone anyways.

"So we have each other's numbers." He answered with a sigh. "It'll be a pain if I have to go to your classroom to fetch you every day…"

I frowned.

' _Fetch me? Ha! I'm_ _not_ _a dog!'_ I thought angrily as Laxus exchanged our numbers.

"And about _that_ …" He trailed off.

"Um, that…what?" I prompted him.

"Kissing." He said with a bit of a smirk, making my whole head heat up in embarrassment. "We are dating, after all. So if you want a kiss, just tell me."

"Wh-What's wrong with you?!" I yelled.

"It's fine if you don't want to. It's just more fun." He said smirking.

I opened and closed my mouth trying to come up with an angry retort. Laxus laughed a little and looked out at the view from the roof with his shit eating grin.

' _I can't believe him?! Who does he even think he is?!'_ I fumed. _'Who would want to kiss_ _you_ _, anyways, you gigantic jerk! Certainly not me!'_

But even as I thought that, the warm touch of his hand when he had brushed my hair came to mind. His hands felt the same as yesterday, when he caught me and stopped me from falling. Those muscles certainly aren't for show either. He's really strong.

' _What am I…even thinking?!'_ I scolded myself. _'…I feel like I am the only one of us who is getting nervous like this… What's going to happen to us from now on…?'_

Eventually our first lunch together came to an end, and I still hadn't found an answer…

…

' _He hasn't really said a thing to me since we ate lunch…'_ I thought with a half pout, half scowl on my face. _'Not even a text about if we should walk home together or something…'_

School has ended for the day. I was leaving the building and going on my way home. Just as I close my locker and head for the doors I heard someone call out to me.

"Lisanna…?" I murmured.

' _I wonder what she wants. She looks pretty mean right now…'_

"About yesterday, don't think for a moment that I'm just going to accept that you're Laxus' girlfriend, got it?" She sneered.

"You…" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I liked him first!" She screamed suddenly, "You don't have any right to him, and I am _not_ going to acknowledge you as my love rival! I've been pursuing Laxus forever! Where were you?! I've never seen you before!"

I smirked and laughed in amusement.

"I've known Laxus my whole life, chickie." I said, and then I frowned scarily, "And let's get one thing straight. How _dare_ you. I don't care if you're Mira-chyan's sister, I will not tolerate what you just said. Laxus is not an object that someone has _a right_ _to_. It's up to him who he chooses to go out with."

"Ha! He's just trying to get me to give up by choosing some random girl to date, isn't he?!" Lisanna shouted.

"So loud…" I muttered in annoyance.

"Well? Are you going to deny it?" She demanded.

I sighed and looked at her with a scowl.

"I'll take your silence to mean that _I'm_ right!" She said smugly. "I refuse to believe he wants to reject me so much that he'd lie… But anyways, I liked him first!"

"What are you, a child?" I deadpanned.

"As far as I'm concerned you're just a stranger to him!" Lisanna snapped.

I clenched my fist to keep from slamming her to the ground. She didn't know what kind of a sore spot she just hit.

"It's not a lie." The voice of whom we were fighting over spoke from behind me.

"Huh?" Lisanna gasped.

Laxus stepped over to my side and slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side.

"I'm dating Fae." He spoke clearly. "I don't care if you are in love with me. I'm not interested in dating anyone but Fae."

' _Laxus…'_ I thought.

"You're lying…! Don't expect me to fall for that!" Lisanna yelled.

Laxus glared at her, looking pretty scary.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" He snarled. "Do you really want to see proof that badly?"

I suddenly got a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

"L-Laxus, m-maybe we should…" I was cut off as Laxus pulled me even closer.

In one smooth motion, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I squeezed my eyes closed reflexively.

"…NO!" I heard Lisanna cry.

I cracked an eye open to look at Lisanna. Her hands flew up, covering her mouth in despair. She stared, watching us kiss in total shock.

' _L-Laxus…! Let me go!'_ I thought desperately.

I tried to break the forceful kiss by wrenching my body to the side to escape his grip. But he seemed to know that I was going to try to get away. He gripped me harder and deepened the kiss.

' _Why…? Why is this happening to me…?'_ I thought, trying not to cry. _'My first kiss…in a place like this and in front of Lisanna of all people…! Please, just let this all be a bad dream!'_


	4. Unexpected Sides

_**Chapter Three – Unexpected Sides**_

Laxus was kissing me deeply. Lisanna was staring at us with wide, tearful eyes.

' _Why… Why is this happening to me…?'_ I thought, trying not to cry. _'My first kiss…in a place like this and in front of Lisanna of all people…! Please, just let this all be a bad dream!'_

Finally, _finally_ Laxus broke the kiss and released me from his arms. I'm much too stunned and mortified to even slap him for that stunt.

"Have you accepted it now?" I faintly heard him ask Lisanna coldly.

She let out a choked sob.

"I'd prefer is you stopped trying to come between Fae and me." He continued.

"I…I can't believe you two!" She screeched and ran down the hall, the sounds of her cries fading.

' _I'm_ _the one who can't believe this!'_ I mentally screamed, not yet able to speak. _'I mean…that kiss was… It was my…'_

"Problem solved." Laxus grunted. He glanced at me, "Well, see y-"

"…Oh hell no! You wait just a minute!" I snarled.

I grabbed his tie and yanked him back.

"Ack-!" He choked.

He pried my fingers away from his tie with much difficulty and tugged at the knot, loosening it, before looking down at me and glaring at me in irritation.

"What's wrong now?" He asked with a scowl.

"No! Don't you dare _'what's wrong now'_ me!" I snapped loudly, "Do you have _any_ idea what you just did?!"

"What I just…? I just kissed you." He answered flatly.

"That wasn't _just_ a kiss, you freakin' giant!" I screeched, "That was my _first_ kiss!"

Laxus stared at me blankly.

That had been my first kiss. I've never even dated a guy before in my entire life…and I had always imagined it happening in so many different wonderful ways.

"M-My first kiss…and you did it… You did it…" I sniffled and tried not to cry. "You did it standing in the middle of _lockers_! A-And in front of Lisanna like that… How _dare_ you! I can't even believe this is happening!"

Laxus sighed, "What kind of kiss would you have wanted?" He asked.

"O-Obviously, it would have been much more r-romantic, okay?!" I hiccupped.

"Romantic?" He repeated.

"Y-Yeah, like… The setting would b-be…a grassy hill at s-sunset or something…" I sniffled, "We'd be walking t-together, quietly…and then you would s-stop and m-my heart would start to pound and…and I'd close my eyes, and in that m-moment you'd lean in, gently kissing me…"

"Seriously? That sounds ridiculously cliché." He deadpanned.

"Of course I'm being serious!" I snapped.

"And that's the kind of thing you dream of?" Laxus chuckled a bit, "And here I was thinking you were a tomboy, but you've actually got a girly side to you."

I stared at him with my mouth open in shock and anger. How could he talk to me like that after _stealing_ my _first_ kiss?! I was way too pissed off to let this go. I took a swing at Laxus with my messenger bag.

"Don't make fun of me, Sparky! I'm being serious!" I snapped.

Laxus swore as I took him by surprise. He dodged to the side, but my bag still clipped his arm loosening the flap enough to come undone. Everything in it spilled out.

"Dammit!" I screamed in anger.

I dropped to the ground to pick everything up.

"Back to the old nicknames, hm?" Laxus sighed as he kneeled to the ground to help me. "See what lashing out does?" He said calmly. "I've never met anyone else who is this much trouble. Not to mention how clumsy you can be…"

"Shut up!" I muttered in exasperation.

I stuffed everything back into my bag and look at Laxus who, much to my horror, has one of my physics tests from last year in his hands.

"This is…" He looked absolutely appalled. He looked up at me with a look of disbelief, "You got a…forty-eight on your physics test?"

"Hey! Don't look at that!" I yelled and snatched the paper from his hands.

I stood up and stuffed the paper in my backpack.

"Honestly, what kind of grade is that?" He deadpanned, standing up as well.

"I-I wasn't feeling well that day!" I stammered.

"So then, what did you get on the test before this one?" He asked, looking at me as if he knew I wasn't being honest.

"Oh, um… I got, uh…" I stammered again.

"I'm pretty sure you got the same kind of grades no matter how you were feeling." He said flatly. "If you don't think of some better excuses, you'll never be able to talk yourself out of anything…"

"Gack…!" I pouted. "F-Fine! Anyways, I'm just bad at physics, okay?! What do you expect me to do about it?! Why do you even care about other people's grades, anyways?!"

"You're right. I don't care about _other_ people's grades. But you're _my girlfriend_." He said. "I can't accept this kind of failure from a girlfriend of mine."

"So what are you suggesting, then?" I asked warily.

"You'll be put through _intensive_ tutoring until you're able to pull your grades up." He said matter-of-factly. "We'll start today. We're going to the library right now."

I paled, "You can be serious… You're just trying to torture me…" I muttered in disbelief.

"I am being serious. I'm going to make sure you understand how to do the work so you don't do so poorly again." He said with an evil smirk.

He reached out and snatched my wrist in his hand as I tried to back away.

"Let's go." He said smugly.

"No! No, I don't wanna study physics!" I wailed, "Lemme go! You can't make me!"

"Shut up and listen up!" He said with a stern glare.

As strong as I was I could not match Laxus' strength, no matter how much I pulled, twisted and dug my feet into the ground. All of my resistance was no match for him. So he dragged me, kicking and screaming, along with him to the library.

…

"Ughh… What god did I piss off to deserve this…?" I moaned. "I've always wanted to go on a date with my boyfriend in our school uniforms, but…"

"And we are." Laxus said.

"How is this a date?!" I snapped.

"It's a study date." He said flatly. "And quiet down. We're in a library."

We were in one of the study rooms at the library, sitting next to each other at the table. Physics texts and reference books are spread out in front of me. Just looking at them made my head hurt.

"First my first kiss and now my first date…" I whimpered, "Nothing is going like I had imagined it…"

"Maybe if you spent less time imagining things like that, you wouldn't have gotten such a low grade." Laxus sighed in exasperation.

"Oh, what do you know, Laxus?" I groaned, "You're already the top of the class… How could you understand…?"

"You're right. I guess there is no way I could understand." He said. "At least, I hope I never understand giving up on yourself without even trying. So if you have time to complain, you have time to do one more problem."

I puffed out my cheeks in a pout. But Laxus was having none of it. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well?" He prompted.

"…Oh, fine!" I huffed.

…

I groaned and let my head fall to the table with a loud _thunk_.

"You've been groaning like that for a while now. Which problem is giving you trouble?" He asked.

I hesitated, "It's…um…number one…" I muttered sheepishly.

"Are you serious?! You've been at it for half an hour and you haven't even…" Laxus stopped and took a deep breath.

"How can I?!" I exploded, "I don't even know what this question is asking for…"

"That why I'm here!" Laxus said in exasperation, "Why did you waste so much time…? Alright. Show me. What don't you understand?"

"U-Um… What's a 'spring constant'?" I asked meekly.

"You don't even know the vocabulary?" Laxus asked. His eyes widened slightly before he sighed. "Why am I even surprised…?"

"Jerk…" I muttered.

"Okay, a spring constant is…" Laxus then proceeded to explain while also drawing diagrams in my notebook.

His hand looked so graceful, sketching quick and confident strokes onto the page.

"And so we represent that as 'k', and…" He said, and then continued.

' _His hands look so strong… And his face… His features are really…'_ I thought absently.

His sharp, stormy eyes with their long lashes counterbalanced the clear sharp line of his nose. I had never seen a guy's face this close up before. When I realized that, my heart started to race even faster.

' _Ahhhh… What do I do?'_ I thought frantically, _'Trying not to think about it is just making me think about it even more…'_

"So in this instance, the spring constant would be equal to 49N/m." He concluded and looked at me, "What's wrong?"

"E-Ehhh?" I jumped, startled.

Laxus narrowed his eyes at me, "You look like you've got your head stuck in the clouds…" He deadpanned. "Were you even paying attention at all?"

"A-Ah… No… S-Sorry, I wasn't…" I admitted.

Laxus sighed, "Well, you get points for being honest, but…" He muttered, "But why don't you listen when someone tries to help you? Or is it that you _can_ solve these problems on your own?"

"I…cannot…" I murmured.

"The pay attention." Laxus said and glared at me pointedly.

I sighed dramatically, but did as I was told. I continued to study under Laxus' strict instruction.

"Didn't you just finish using the same equation?" Laxus asked with a scowl. "Why are you forgetting things from three seconds ago?"

"…I thought this might need a different equation to solve…" I mumbled.

"Why would you think…? Look, it you just approach the problem logically, it's obvious…" Laxus sighed again, "Or are you perhaps some kind of idiot?"

"…Yeah, fine! Whatever!" I snapped, "I'm an idiot, okay?!"

"Stop being stubborn." Laxus said. "If you are an idiot, then at least work within your limits to improve yourself."

"Would you not call me an idiot?!" I snapped.

"I you were any other student I wouldn't care if they're idiots." Laxus said and gave me pointed look, "But, you're _my girlfriend_. My girlfriend has to possess a suitable amount of intelligence."

' _It's not like I'm your girlfriend by choice…'_ I thought as I glared harshly at him.

"Don't look at me like that. If you have something to say, then spit it out already." He said.

I huffed, "Your explanations are too complicated! I can't understand any of this!" I said.

"…Okay. Then, let's try starting with some easier problems." Laxus muttered and started looking in one of the reference books. "Let's start you with some middle school level problems. I'll help you build up your skills, and…"

…

"…and so, if you pull the fixed portion of this spring in the opposite direction-" Laxus explained.

"Ah! So that's why it's 0.6N!" I exclaimed.

Laxus smiled slightly, "Right. See, you did it." He said.

"Yeah! And, what about this problem?" I asked pointing to the next one.

"Alright, in this case, you pull on both ends of the spring at the same time." Laxus explained.

"Okay…" I furrowed my brow as I concentrated. "This one is 6.0N too. So doesn't it become 1.2?"

"Now you've got it!" Laxus said, his smile widening a little. "The next problem is…"

Laxus' explanations became more and more passionate. He leaned over towards me a little and our shoulders touched.

"…Sorry…" Laxus murmured.

Flushing slightly, he pulled back away from me and stood up quietly.

He coughed awkwardly, "With that explanation, you should be able to solve the rest of the problems on this page on your own." He said, "Call me when you're finished. I'll be reading a book over that area."

He gestured in a direction and hurried away. I blinked in confusion before snickering a bit.

"Honestly…" I murmured with a small smile.

' _How can he be so shy about our shoulders touching, when just a couple hours ago he kissed me so deeply in front of Lisanna…?'_ I felt my cheeks get hot from the memory and shook my head from side to side in quick motions. _'No! No, no, no, no,_ _no_ _! Don't think about that!'_ I couldn't make sense of the gap between his behaviors… _'But thanks to Laxus, I think I understand a lot more of this now. Solving this stuff is actually kind of fun now that I know what I'm doing. I'll challenge myself to finish this page, like Laxus suggested! Alright, let's do this!'_

…

' _Laxus, where did you go…? This library is too big…'_ I thought pursing my lips, _'He should be around here…'_

I had finished solving the problems, so I started walking around the library, looking for Laxus. Not too much later I spot him.

' _Ah! There he is!'_ I thought with a smile.

I saw him sitting down in the zoology section. I hurried over to him and opened my mouth to speak, but closed it when I realized he was asleep.

' _He's really asleep!'_ I thought, trying not to giggle.

Laxus' head was cradled in his hand, being propped up on his elbow. A book was open in front of him.

' _Heh… He looks so defenseless like this… Usually his face is in a sharp frown or scowl.'_ I thought as I peered into his face. _'He'd be so much more handsome is he looked like this all the time…'_

I sighed and glanced down at the book Laxus was reading.

'… _An illustrated reference about white foxes?'_ I giggled, _'He still loves them, huh? That's kinda cute.'_

My eyes widen in surprise when Laxus suddenly murmured in his sleep. I reached out and shook his shoulder gently to try to wake him.

"Laxus… I finished all the problems." I said gently. "Come check my answers."

"Mmm… Huh…what?" Laxus mumbled as he opened his eyes.

Laxus blinked blearily at me and seemed half-asleep still, like he wasn't quite sure where he was. I couldn't help but giggle again. But that seemed to wake him fully. His eyes shot open and he sat up rigidly.

"Fae… It's just you…" He breathed. "Did you finish the problems?"

I smiled brightly, "Yup, I solved all of them by myself." I said, feeling totally proud of myself.

"Alright. Then I'll take a look." He said.

Laxus went back to his usual attitude and stood up with a purpose. I squashed down my residual amusement and followed him back to the study room.

…

"Problem eight: 2N/m… Problem nine: 98N… Problem ten…" Laxus muttered as he checked my answers. When he was done he leaned back and looked at me, "You didn't get all of them right, but… Eh, I guess it's a passing grade."

"Really? Yay! That's awesome!" I cheered.

Laxus cracked a small smile, "You really worked hard on these." He said.

I stopped cheering and stared at him.

"What is it?" He mumbled.

"Oh, nothing really… It's just…you actually said something nice to me…" I said softly

"Rude." He said knocking me gently on my head. "I'm not that much of a jerk." I gave him a flat look, which seemed to annoy him further. He scowled, "Even I can see when people deserve a compliment. And you really did put a lot of effort into solving these problems…"

"Laxus… Thank you!" I smiled brightly at him.

' _Laxus is not the kind of guy to just say things like that or give compliments. So I really do feel happy when he compliments me.'_ I thought, _'It kind of makes me want to work even harder…just to hear him compliment me again.'_

…

We were walking back from the library now. The two of us walked along a ridge with a gorgeous view.

' _Ahhh, I really love the view from here! Especially at this time of day!'_ I thought, smiling, as I looked over at the setting sun.

The sun was slowly sinking down towards the sea filled horizon, staining the sky with pretty colors. I let out a contented sigh from just looking at the beautiful scene in front of me.

"It really is beautiful, isn't it…?" I murmured. "The sunset…"

Laxus was walking behind me. I felt him take a hold of my arm. Surprised, I turned around to look at him.

"Wh-What's wrong?" I stammered. But he stayed silent, looking at me with a thoughtful look. "Laxus?"

A bit of a blush surfaced on his cheeks.

"…I guess it's a little late at this point, but…" He trailed off.

"What are you ta-" I stopped talking when Laxus squeezed my arm a little.

He then gently took both of my hands into his and stepped closer. Our chests were almost touching and I could feel my own face heat up a little. He leaned down and I felt the soft press of his lips against mine. After a moment of shock, I closed my eyes and softly kissed him back. It was nothing like the kiss back at school, surrounded by lockers… This kiss was gentle, with just a slight pressure from both of our lips. Almost as soon as it had begun, Laxus pulled away again, gazing steadily into my eyes.

"…Was that…better?" He asked awkwardly.

"…Huh?" I mumbled in a daze.

"…Was that what you meant by being…romantic…?" He asked.

"O-Oh…" I blinked.

I remembered how I had told him about my ideal kiss on a hill at sunset. He actually remembered that. It's too bad it couldn't have been my first kiss, but…

"… _That_ was our first kiss." He murmured, as if he had read my mind. "Our kiss at school… Our feelings…weren't mutual. So this kiss… This one will be our first kiss as a couple."

I'm sure my face was as red as a tomato at this point.

"Does that mean…you have…feelings for me?" I asked. But he didn't reply. "…Laxus?"

He turned a darker shade of red himself.

"St-Stop picking apart every little thing…" He grumbled in embarrassment, "I gave you the kiss you wanted, didn't I?

Laxus was back to his usual short-tempered remarks. I sighed as he carefully let go of my hands.

"Let's go…" He mumbled.

Laxus started walking away, but it seemed more like he was stalking away with his arms crossed. The sight almost made me laugh as I watched his back with different feelings than from before.

' _I thought Laxus was an unfriendly, blunt kind of person, but…_ ' I thought warmly, _'Maybe he has a few kind spots, after all.'_

He turned around when he realized I wasn't following him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He called out to me, "If you don't hurry up, I'll leave you behind!"

"You wouldn't dare!" I threatened.

Laxus smirked and started walking away again.

"Hey! Wait for me, ya freakin' giant!" I yelled as I ran after him.

Somehow, my steps felt lighter than ever and I smiled as I caught up to him.


End file.
